Khodorkovsky Regrets U.S. Court Move by Yukos Managers

Former head of the Yukos Oil Company Mikhail Khodorkovsky has said that he was upset by the fact that the company managers had to file for bankruptcy at a U.S. court, a statement published on the web-site run by Khodorkovsky’s press-center reads.

“In the situation that we have today I consider it important to explain my position regarding the decision made by the managers of the Yukos Oil Company. I am upset by such a turn of events. But I cannot blame the foreign managers and the board of directors for filing a reorganization claim in the U.S. court. They have done more than could be expected from them to save the company and now they are protecting personal reputation. But, of course, this will not help the company’s shareholders,” Khodorkovsky said.

Khodorkovsky also reiterated his thesis that the Russian authorities could not and did not want to act in the interests of the nation.

“The authorities have driven the company to collapse and caused the stock market to stagnate under excellent market conditions and this is not easy to understand. Of course, this is if we presume that the authorities worry about the national interests and not something else,” the businessman said.

Yukos filed for bankruptcy at a U.S. court on Wednesday seeking to hold up the sale of its main production unit Yuganskneftegaz on Dec. 19. The court ruling is expected to be announced late on Thursday. However, lawyers and analysts expect the Russian authorities to go ahead with the sale anyway.

The Russia government has put Yuganskneftegaz up for auction on Dec. 19 at a starting price of $9 billion, in pursuit of punitive back-tax demands which now total $27.54 billion.

Six major banks — ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and J.P. Morgan — have put together a 10 billion euro syndicated loan —- Russia’s largest ever —- to fund the bid for Yugansk by Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom.

(Moscow News, 12.16.2004)